I live by the motto “never judge a book by its cover”; some of the best things in life come in unexpected forms. I always try to keep an open mind and will try anything once (within reason). It is with this mentality that I have discovered my love for things like escargot and raw fish. I was hesitant to try these things at first, but I’m so glad that I did.

For breakfast this morning I had a bowl of unconventional oats. I used 1/2 cup raw rolled oats, 1/3 cup Chobani Plain Greek Yogurt, 1/3 cup pumpkin, 1/2 of a large banana, ground flax, honey and cinnamon. With inspiration from Catlin, raw oatmeal is quickly becoming one of my favorite breakfast dishes. I did not think it sounded appealing at first, but after trying it I immediately fell in love. It has a better consistency than overnight oats and is far more substantive than granola or cereal. It keeps me full, satisfied and happy all morning long.

Lunch today is also “off the beaten path” so to speak. I packed my lunchbox with a sunflower seed butter, spinach and red bell pepper sandwich on whole wheat with two large carrots, an Empire apple and a super-charge me cookie. Allie sent me my very first jar of sunflower seed butter a few weeks ago and I have been dipping into it non-stop. I have added sunflower seed butter to everything from bread to yogurt, and found that some of my favorite surfaces have been vegetables. In fact, I think the best combination I tried was raw broccoli dipped in sunflower seed butter. Sounds odd, but it was so good. Remember my motto?

I hope everyone is taking advantage of this beautiful weather and enjoying the company of family and friends! I also hope that everyone takes a moment to pause and remember the meaning of this holiday. I want to send a big THANK YOU to our troops and all of those who have devoted their lives to our country. You are constantly in my thoughts, and I am so grateful for your commitment.

Today has been a patriotic day for my food. One of the reasons why I love coming home is to use my mom’s dinnerware. I swear she has plates, cups and place mats themed for every major holiday. The summer months are all about the stars and stripes!I woke up this morning around 7:30am, and geared up to go for on a “Memorial Day Run” with my dad. Before heading out the door I had a light breakfast that consisted of 1/2 of a large banana, strawberries, sunflower seed butter and coffee (in my themed mug!) while reading my horoscope and completing the easy Monday sudoku puzzle in our local paper. Fun fact: I’m obsessed with sudoku. Every time I am home I retrieve the newspaper from our mailbox as soon as I wake up so that I can do the puzzle while watching the news and having breakfast.

My dad and I ran a surprising 5.5 miles (it has been an EXTREMELY long time since I have done this distance, 3 is usually my max.). The sun was hot during our run and we were BEAT by the time we returned home. My dad, aka The Breakfast Man, whipped up some omelets for brunch. My omelet was made with Swiss cheese, basil, mixed cherry tomato and broccoli with a glass of orange juice and a large carrot on the side (don’t ask, I was craving a crunchy vegetable haha). We had brunch outside on our patio and it was fantastic! I don’t want to be repetitive, but I LOVE COMING HOME! There is something distinctly special about family time and good food.The run took a lot out of me, and I decided that I needed a bit more protein. I extended this brunch with a 1/2 cup of Chobani Plain Greek Yogurt, strawberries, a handful of roasted almonds and cinnamon.The sun was out in full force today, thus the shadows in many of these pictures.

I’m off to do a few tasks before heading back to school my apartment later today. WHOA! I actually typed school and it took me a minute before I realized that I just completed college and now am in the working world. So the song goes, times are a changin’. I think we will have an early Memorial Day barbecue before I head back. I have to take advantage of our charcoal grill while I can because it’s back to a cast iron grill pan when I return to my mini apartment!

After a night filled with good food and conversation with my parents, I sluggishly walked upstairs to my room to settle down for the night. When I opened my door I noticed a mysterious brown package sitting on my desk. What could this be? My parents did not mention that I received a package so I was extremely surprised and excited to see what it was. To my delight, it was a gift from Allie at Live, Laugh Eat! If you haven’t met Allie, check out her blog! She is a genius baker and incredibly kind. Allie is doing some big things in the baking world with her AllieBars andsent me a few of her creations along with a jar of Sunflower Seed Butter. I love my nut butters and have been DYING to try sunflower seed butter! Thank you Allie, you made my visit home even more special! 🙂

I woke up early this morning to attend the Farmer’s Market (will post about this later today!) with my parents. I am a Farmer’s Market junkie. I love buying locally grown and produced items. The pride and love that producers have for their products is truly reflected in the quality of their goods and is never anything short of exceptional! Before leaving I had a breakfast to reflect the “food from the heart” feel of the Farmers Market that incorporated an AllieBar and Sunflower Seed Butter. I filled my bowl with plain yogurt, a large banana, cinnamon, sunflower seed butter and an AllieBar (I ate half before the picture!). HOLY YUM!

Allie–I can finally relate to your love for sunflower seed butter. I will be attacking this jar full force with a fork in hand Allie style.

As if the sunflower seed butter wasn’t amazing enough, the Allie Bar brought a whole new “yum factor” to this meal. Let me just say, the girl knows what she is doing! I loved how it had a homemade feel to it with the hearty oats. It was soft bar with filled with driedcranberries, raisins, dried apricots, pecans, sunflower seeds and a whole lot of love. You can’t buy a granola bar like this in a store. I wish her the best of luck in her AllieBar ambitions. She is destined for big things!

I’m off for a short country side run and will be back to post about my market adventure later in the day. Happy Saturday!